


Nevermore

by thepilot



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Bassian, Endor, Ewoks, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Nightsisters, Post Death Star II, Post-Rogue One, Talisman of the Raven, sniperpilot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2018-12-04 03:01:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11546115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thepilot/pseuds/thepilot
Summary: "It matches my stones! I’ve been finding these little tiny stones. They catch my eye because they almost seem like they’re glowing. Actually,” Bodhi said, sitting down and pulling out his treasures, “I think they might actually fit in the ring!”





	1. The Rook and the Raven

Bodhi Rook loved collecting things. On more than one occasion, Cassian had seen him pick up some memento of some kind and shove it in to his pocket. And on more than one occasion, Cassian had gone through Bodhi’s pockets to see what was inside. As he hung Bodhi’s jacket it up on a peg in their U-Wing, Cassian wasn’t at all surprised to find a small seashell, a screwdriver, an old data cylinder, or even a comb. What he was most surprised to find was a button that had fallen off of one of Cassian’s long discarded jackets. Cassian knew it was his: he’d gotten the jacket before he’d even met Bodhi, and once the jacket was a cacophony of stress and holes, he’d thrown it away. Bodhi Rook loved collecting things, and he loved Cassian, but it still made Cassian’s heart leap to find that button.

The pair were on their way to Endor. The Death Star II was gone, the festivities long passed, which meant that Cassian and Bodhi could escape for a time to finally enjoy each other, something they had never had the luxury of doing. They had played small roles in the destruction of the Death Star II, but they were not present for the battle of Endor: they’d stayed on base, working at control. As much as Bodhi and Cassian loved being engaged in battle, they’d recently taken up a mutual appreciation for stationary work. Cassian still loved to fly with Bodhi, so their trip to Endor was nothing shy of a thrill.

“It’s so green!” Bodhi exclaimed as they descended on the moon, Cassian returning to his chair in the cockpit.

“You’ve seen lots of green planets,” Cassian replied.

“I guess. But this one just seems so much _more_ green,” Bodhi shrugged.

Cassian grinned. Looking out over the expanse before them, he realized just how beautiful a place it really was, and he was glad to be here with Bodhi. They’d radioed ahead to some of the few Alliance soldiers still left on the planet, and landed easily in a clearing. Well, landing with Bodhi as a pilot was always easy.

They weren’t really sure where they were going, but had brought enough supplies to camp outdoors for several days, possibly a week if they were able to find more food. They collected up their bags and bed rolls, and walked out of the ship, Bodhi humming cheerfully.

“Should we just walk? Go from there?” Bodhi asked, walking backwards to look at Cassian.

“Might as well. We’ll figure out a place to set up camp in a bit. We probably want to make sure that we have a fire going before nightfall.”

“Got it,” Bodhi said, turning back around. The clearing turned to heavy brush and tall trees as they made their way further and further from their ship.

“Argh! Get off me!” Bodhi yelled suddenly, swatting at something that had darted out of the trees and swooped by his head. A raven, Cassian realized, as it flew back up in one of the trees and began cawing at them.

“It must like you,” Cassian mused.

“If by “like” you mean “want to attack,” then yes, it really liked me,” Bodhi said, half annoyed, half amused.

“You’re family, you know. That raven and you. You are a Rook, after all.”

“Yes, it must have found my identification card.” There was no masking the sarcasm in Bodhi’s tone. The raven continued to caw, and flew to another tree ahead of them as they kept walking.

“Cassian, it’s following us. It’s an Empire Raven, and I don’t trust it,” Bodhi said with a frown. Cassian wasn’t sure if he was serious or not.

“I’ll protect you. He’ll have to peck me to death to get to you,” Cassian said, taking Bodhi’s hand. They laced their fingers together and smiled, exchanging a look before walking on.

About an hour in to their trek, they stopped at an overturned log and decided to eat something. They set their bags aside and rolled out one of the sleeping rolls to sit on as they ate.

“You know, I do really like it here,” Bodhi said between mouthfuls.

“What?” Cassian asked. The raven was still on them, cawing relentlessly. Bodhi swallowed hard and leaned closer to Cassian’s ear.

“I said, I do really like it here,” Bodhi repeated.

Cassian smiled. “I’d like it anywhere as long as you were with me.” Bodhi’s face turned a dark crimson, but he smiled and said, “me too.”

“How long before the sun sets, do you think?”

“Several hours still, we can keep walking for now. Unless you want to stop here and set up camp?” Cassian asked.

“No, I like the walking for now…Let’s keep going.”

They packed up their things, and Cassian watched Bodhi pick something up off the ground and stash it in a pocket: he’d only noticed it because what little sunlight was peeking through the trees had caught it and made it flash red for a split-second. But Cassian didn’t ask. He loved the little quirks Bodhi had.

“How far do you think we’ve gone now? How far away is the ship?” Bodhi asked, looking over his shoulder. Cassian pulled out a small scanner he had stashed in a pocket.

“Mmm, about 8 kilometers.”

“That’s it?! I feel like we’ve walked the entire planet!” Bodhi exclaimed with a wide gesture. Cassian grinned.

“Well we have been hiking for a long time. Maybe we should set up camp? I see some wayward pines up ahead. They always make for a great shelter,” Cassian said, pointing up ahead.

“Yeah…yeah sure, let’s set up camp. I’m hungry again, too.”

With the shelter of the massive pine boughs looming over them, they laid out their bed rolls, Bodhi started the fire while Cassian collected logs and small bits of timber to keep the fire going. Dusk was upon them, and the smile of the camp fire was welcoming and soothing to them. Cassian returned, more chipper than he had been, and set the pile of wood down he’d gathered up. Together they added some more wood and sat for a time, listening to the pops and hisses of the burning wood.

“I just realized something.”

“Hm?” Cassian turned his head towards Bodhi.

“That raven: it stopped following us. Or it’s still following us and just stopped making noise. I haven’t heard it since you went looking for fire wood.”

“You’re right. I hadn’t even noticed," he said distractedly, looking around for the raven. Cassian got up and started going through their bags, pulling out some food packets and a canteen of water to prep dinner on the fire.

As they sat eating dinner, Bodhi couldn’t help but notice Cassian constantly putting a hand up to his pocket, as if to make sure whatever was contained inside was still there; as they got ready for bed, Bodhi couldn’t help but notice Cassian take the small object out of his jacket pocket and place it in his pants pocket. Bodhi resolved himself not to say anything as they snuggled in together, Cassian leaning against the trunk of the tree as Bodhi slept in his lap for a pillow. They’d take turns sleeping so that someone was always on alert and watching the fire: they were on friendly terms with the Ewoks, but that didn’t mean that one of them wouldn’t turn up in the middle of the night and scare them. Or something else...


	2. To the lake

“Time to get up,” Bodhi said quietly as he knelt beside Cassian, giving him a light kiss on the lips. Cassian pulled him in closer to deepen the kiss, but Bodhi reluctantly pulled away.

“Oh no way Cassian, absolutely not. Your breath is awful: here, take a mint, I’ve got tons in my pocket,” Bodhi said, pulling out a mint and sticking it in Cassian’s open and expectant mouth. Bodhi stood up and tugged on Cassian’s arms, but Cassian was playfully not reacting.

“Bodhi, we have all day. Days, actually. Why can’t we…stay here…for a little while?”

Bodhi grinned sheepishly.

“Because I may have wandered off last night…and I may have found a little lake…” Bodhi said hesitantly. Cassian's eyebrows knit together.

“You were supposed to stay here! What if that raven attacked me in the middle of the night?” A hint of a smile crept across Cassian’s face, but he was trying to be serious. Maybe a part of him was.

“Well it didn’t so…let’s go!” Bodhi said, pulling Cassian to his feet finally.

“Alright fine, but we need to talk about your camping skills. Or lack thereof...” he paused, then circled his arms around Bodhi. “May I?” he asked, leaning in for a kiss. Bodhi sniffed dramatically to examine his breath, then nodded his head.

When they finally broke apart, they set to work packing up everything.

Cassian talked to Bodhi as they packed. “Tell me again your thing? With the breath?”

“My mentor at the Academy, Misurno? His breath stank. It was...it was pretty vile. And when you’re so close in the cockpit, there’s only so much you can stand. I started carrying mints with me, and now whenever I smell bad breath, I think about Misurno. And then I think about the Empire…”

“Ah. Right. Well, I won’t bring it up again. I’ll just always have fresh breath,” Cassian said with a smile.

“What about the fire? And the firewood: seems like a shame to waste it.”

Cassian turned around and gestured widely. “I don’t think we need to worry about finding more wood for a new fire.”

Bodhi laughed. “No, I guess not. This way,” he said, as they shouldered their belongings and headed in the direction Bodhi had found the lake. It was a hot day, humid, with no breeze, and finding a lake would make their stay much more enjoyable.

After they’d gone about 2 kilometers, they heard the raven again. They both exchanged a look as they passed beneath the tree it was currently perched.

“He’ll…he’ll go away, I’m sure,” Bodhi said loud enough for Cassian to hear.

“Or I’ll make him-“

“No, Cassian.”

Cassian sighed. “Fine. But if we find any scout troopers…”

“Then we'll run as fast as we can,” Bodhi smiled as Cassian took his hand.

It wasn’t long before they were able to see sunlight bouncing off of water and the sound of frogs croaking. A dense thicket of weeds and tall grass opened to a large beach of dirt and smooth stone. They trudged their way to the beach, the raven perching on a branch that jutted out across the water, but it wasn’t long before Bodhi had dumped everything he was carrying, peeling off his sweat soaked clothes.

“That desperate?” Cassian mused, but Bodhi ignored the innuendo, running straight in the water, not even bothering to test the temperature. He had already made it out a good distance by the time Cassian was taking his first hesitant steps in the water.

“Bodhi, what the hell, it’s freezing!” He yelled out.

“It’s not if you just dive in!” Bodhi yelled back, swimming closer to shore. Once Bodhi made contact with the bottom closer to shore, he started splashing Cassian, who was reluctant to partake in a game that involved an element that was making him shiver. Bodhi decided to speed up the process by standing next to Cassian and tackling him down into the water.

They played for what seemed like hours, tackling, splashing and best of all, laughing. As the sun reached its peak in the sky, they decided to come to shore to set up their new camp. Bodhi grabbed something out from between some rocks and held it in his hand as he put on his trousers, grinning as he put the object in his pocket.

“Seashell?” Cassian asked.

“No, no, something else,” Bodhi replied as if it was something boring. Nothing would have been boring to Cassian.

“I found something, too, actually.”

“Really? What?” The sudden interest in collecting things made Bodhi excited. Cassian had finished dressing, and pulled a gold ring from his pocket, a broken shard of red stone in the socket.

“I don’t know what it is, but I thought you’d like it. As maybe a…I don’t know…” Cassian struggled for words. He could talk his way out of anything, but with Bodhi he always seemed at a loss for expressing his feelings.

He turned it in his hands a few times before handing it to Bodhi, who took it from Cassian as if it had been a lightsaber being passed down from Master to Padawan. Cassian wasn’t sure if Bodhi had ever smiled so brightly before; it made him smile to see Bodhi so happy.

“It matches my stones! I’ve been finding these little tiny stones. They catch my eye because they almost seem like they’re glowing. Actually,” Bodhi said, sitting down and pulling out his treasures, “I think they might actually _fit_ in the ring!”

Cassian knelt beside Bodhi as he tried to make the little shards fit, but every way he turned them, they didn’t seem to fit.

“Here, let me try,” Cassian said, taking the ring and shards from Bodhi. It took Cassian a few less tries, but it worked: each little piece of stone fit within the socket. The cracks seemed to fuse together and they both stared at it with awe.

“Mmm, must be a part of some special stone.”

“Maybe it’s a kyber crystal! No…that’s not right, those are clear, like Jyn’s. And the ones I delivered…” Bodhi drifted off.

“Well, whatever it is, it’s yours now,” Cassian said, still holding the now complete ring. “I know we really don’t have time to spend together, and I really can’t go out looking for things to give you, but I hope you’ll take this. And me, if you’d like.” The raven had set in to cawing manically as Cassian spoke, but they did their best to enjoy their tender moment together. Bodhi took the ring from Cassian and tried it on all of his fingers until he finally got it to fit on his pinky finger. “I don’t know how to say this, but, there’s no one I want to be with more than with you, Bodhi Rook.”

Bodhi laughed. “I love you, Cassian. And I understand your sentiment. Unfortunately, all I heard of your last bit was: ‘I want to be Rook.’”

Cassian laughed, too. “I’m sure our friend would like a companion. Although he seems to have fallen silent just now. He must be jealous.”

“I hope so,” Bodhi said, embracing Cassian.

Sweet kisses had turned into passionate ones, and it wasn’t long before the two had fallen to laying together on the beach, their bed rolls splayed beneath them. It was in a moment of peak ecstasy that everything seemed to crash down around them.

Bodhi screamed out in immense pain, pushing Cassian away. He started rocking back and forth, rubbing his own arms. Cassian put a concerned hand to his shoulder.

“Bodhi, what’s wrong? What happened?”

“I…I don’t know. My arms and fingers. Cassian! I don't know what's wrong!” Bodhi exclaimed with tears in his eyes.

“Hang on, I’ve got some baccta packets, it’ll be okay” Cassian said, dashing away to rummage through his pack, Bodhi continuing to rub his arms. But what happened next, was something more than extraordinary. He watched in horror and shock as Bodhi stood up as if he was being pulled by a string, wailing as his arms drifted up as they extended to an abnormal length, feathers as dark as the night falling in a rush from above his elbow down to his fingertips that looked like branches, until every bit of bare skin was covered; at the same time this anomaly happened, his arms increased in width in a rush of long feathers, creating an enormous wing span. Bodhi was shrieking in pain, and Cassian was scrambling to get to Bodhi, but the raven, the persistent raven that had been following them, cawing at them, swooped down from its perch and grazed Cassian’s head as it landed in front of Bodhi, who had collapsed in a heap of flesh and feathers. Clutched in the raven’s beak was the ring Cassian had given to Bodhi, but as Cassian reached out, the raven was no longer a raven.

Slowly rising to stand before Cassian was a woman with long ebony hair and ghostly pale skin, wearing a silver plate of chest armor and a black and red cape donned with feathers. The ring was clutched in her hand and her eyes were otherworldly. Cassian had never seen someone like her. In all his years of traveling, he'd never seen someone that seemed to sizzle with power like this woman did standing before him now.

“I knew when I first saw you you’d be the ones to put the ring back together. Your lover seems to have a knack for finding the things I have been trying to find for decades. Unfortunate that you gave him that ring to wear. I tried to warn you, stop you, but you didn’t listen. It would seem that together, you created enough power between the two of you to activate the ring. I’m afraid he’ll be in that state until he dies: I have no intention of giving this ring back.”

Cassian had faced death more times than anyone living should, but he couldn’t face this woman. He struggled for anything to say, but Admiral Cassian Andor, was paralyzed with fear. He needed to think of something.

“If we put the ring back together for you, we helped you, right? Why not help him? Return the favor. At least give us that ring so he can be fixed!” Cassian spit, throwing fire in his words.

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple,” she said with a cunning smile. Cassian could tell she was relishing in their misfortune: this sadistic woman was at least easy to read in that aspect. “There is a single ur-spirit trapped within this ring, belonging to that of a raven, allowing the sister wearing it to transform. I was transformed when this ring was shattered, and that raven's ur-spirit returned to the spirit realm, leaving me in the raven’s form forever. Or so I thought. But when you pieced it back together, the ur-spirit returned to the ring. Unfortunately, being that your lover said he wished to be a rook while you were in possession of the ring, he unknowingly conjured up another ur-spirit. Lucky for him, there was no way he could transform fully into a rook: he's transformed now as much as possible. I’d say it’s quite an achievement, actually.”

“So there’s no chance, nothing? That makes no sense! Who are you? Why won't you help?” Cassian demanded, rage building inside of him.

The woman sighed. “I’ll grant you my name at least, but I’ve been trapped for so long I don’t wish to stay here much longer. I am Sister Charal. That is all I wish to discuss,” she said, stepping past Cassian.

“Please, you can’t just leave him like this! I have contacts in the Alliance, the Senate even, I can get you anything you need!” Cassian pleaded.

She turned to face him, a smug smile on her face. “My poor boy, I am beyond your petty wars. I care nothing for the Empire, the Alliance, nor the Senate: nothing you could get me would be of any worth or value.” Suddenly, she seemed to disappear from sight, leaving Cassian and Bodhi alone at the water’s edge. Tears were stinging Cassian’s eyes as he lifted the unconscious Bodhi in his arms. There was something majestic about the creature Bodhi had become, his dark hair splayed out on his bare shoulders, matching the iridescent black color of his wings. Cassian sat with Bodhi cradled in his arms, petting his hair and whispering anything he could think of in his ear.

“It’ll be alright, Bodhi. We’ll fix this. I’ll fix this. It’ll be alright.”

There was barely any sunlight when Bodhi finally came to. He looked up wildly at Cassian, moving his enormous wings, forgetting it was no longer arms. His face was pale and his eyes were already rimmed with tears.

“I was hoping it wasn’t real, but it is! Cassian, what happened? What happened?” Bodhi screamed, trying to hold Cassian with his arms but failing. Cassian could do nothing but pull Bodhi closer with his own arms, feeling Bodhi start to shake with sobs.

“Shhh,” Cassian whispered, rocking Bodhi in his arms. “It’s rather complicated, and I’m not even sure I understand, but we can fix this. It’ll be alright, I promise,” Cassian said, petting Bodhi’s hair.

“But what happens in the meantime? I can’t go around like this!” Bodhi cried.

“It’ll be alright. Let’s get you dressed as best we can and we’ll sleep. We can’t travel anywhere tonight. Maybe we can find a Rebel bunker. I know there’s an Ewok village only a few kilometers from here. We’ll get help,” Cassian said, trying his best to encourage Bodhi. Bodhi seemed to calm at Cassian’s words.

“Al-alright, I’ll take the first shift. I’ve been asleep all this time…”

“No, absolutely not Bodhi. You’re sleeping the whole night, I’ll be fine.”

“But Cass-“

“No, Bodhi. Let me help you up,” he said, unwrapping himself from around Bodhi and gently pulling him up under his shoulders. Bodhi seemed unsure of what to do with his wings, first walking with them hanging at his sides, then fussing with trying to pull them in closer. He finally managed to fold his wings up not unlike an actual bird. Cassian dressed Bodhi first, helping him step into his trousers and putting on his boots and socks. But there was the issue of the top. Bodhi seemed on the verge of panic again when he seemed to notice this.

“We’ll wrap you up in a blanket-I brought one with me in case it got too cold at night,” Cassian reassured, retrieving a rolled-up blanket from his bag. He draped it around Bodhi as best he could, trying to cover his torso. “Better?” he asked, patting the top of Bodhi’s shoulders.

“Y-yeah, yeah. Cassian, what about my bags? You have to carry them now. You should just leave me here…”

“No, Bo. I’m not leaving you here. We don’t have far to go. I’ll manage,” Cassian said, trying to give Bodhi a smile. Bodhi was still in shock. They walked a distance from the water’s edge, Cassian carrying everything in his arms as Bodhi followed behind. He began setting up camp as Bodhi found his way to sitting, his eyes broken and sad.

Once Cassian had set up everything for the night, he helped Bodhi lay down. He kissed his forehead and set about making a campfire. The sun hadn’t quite set, so there was just enough light for Cassian to see by to start the fire. By the glow of a flashlight he was able to gather wood for the fire. He took out some food packets, and realized he would have to feed Bodhi.

“Cassian, no, this is humiliating. I can’t ask you to feed me. You said we’re not far, right? I don’t need to eat…”

“Yes, you do, Bodhi. You haven’t eaten all day. At least have a few bites. I don’t mind Bodhi, I really don’t. Please?” Cassian said, offering food on a spoon to Bodhi. Bodhi shot him a look, then opened his mouth: he ended up eating more than he said he would. Cassian helped Bodhi settle in, and moved to sit by the fire. He was glad that Bodhi had surrendered his shifts to Cassian: he had to think of a plan.


	3. Chapter 3

As dawn crept upon the moon, Cassian, who sat by the lake’s edge some distance from the sleeping Bodhi, still hadn’t really thought of anything to do. All he could think to do was get to the base on Endor, and go from there. He was able to contact the base, and let them know of their anticipated arrival. Once he finished making the necessary connections, he got up and rummaged through Bodhi’s now useless jacket, pulling out a mint and popping it in his mouth. He crept over to Bodhi, whose wings were wrapped up as if he were a great sleeping bird: Bodhi looked tragically beautiful.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Cassian asked, gently patting Bodhi’s shoulder. Bodhi’s big brown eyes slowly blinked open as he smiled up at Cassian.

“I guess how a giant man-bird would feel? I’m not in any pain, if that’s of any help,” Bodhi said, wiggling himself to an upright sitting position. Cassian put his arms around Bodhi, and Bodhi, instinctively, wrapped his wings around Cassian.

“Sorry, I’m just not-“

“Bodhi, you need to stop thinking this is somehow your fault. I found the ring, and I gave it to you. It’s actually my fault. Now let’s see about making this right,” Cassian said. Bodhi nodded, but said nothing.

“Let me make breakfast, and we’ll head out to the base here. I tracked it. We’re not that far. They can put us in communication with...someone...”

As they left their camp, the smoke from the doused fire rose behind them, the smoke drifting up as if they were putting the events of the prior day behind them. Bodhi had a much easier time navigating the dense woods than he had anticipated, but as they approached base, he hid himself behind Cassian as much as he possibly could, his giant wings still sticking out from behind Cassian.

“Admiral Andor, Captain Rook,” a younger, mousey looking sergeant nodded to them. He seemed intrigued by Bodhi’s condition, but not entirely surprised.

“Sergeant Fibst, I’m glad I was able to reach you. Have you been able to find anything out about these nightsisters?” Cassian asked as the Sergeant led them inside the small base outpost. A few other soldiers on casual patrol did their best to hide their stares: they had been told to mind their own business lest they meet Cassian’s wrath.

The sergeant sighed. “All we have been able to find are some old documents that describe that sister’s entrapment here. And a few accounts of a raven persistently cawing. We’ve pulled them all up for you: they’re free for you to peruse.”

“Thank you. I’m starting to think this may all be more something up a Jedi’s alley than a war vet’s…” Cassian wasn’t sure he knew if any of the very few remaining Jedi were even willing to help.

Bodhi was silent, and kept his eyes fixed on the floor as they were led to a recreational room of sorts. A few tables with chairs and couches donned the rather small room: a holopad was sitting on top of one of the tables, clearly supplied for Cassian.

“We’ve pulled up all the articles for you here, Admiral Andor. Feel free to come and find me when you’ve finished: we’re more than happy to bunk you here for as long as you need,” the sergeant said, leaving Cassian and Bodhi alone in the room. Cassian dropped all of their bags on the ground heavily, as he sat down and picked up the holopad. Bodhi scooted himself into a chair on the other side, watching Cassian.

Cassian was able to find a few helpful mentions of the nightsister: she had quite a history of being on Endor.

“Alright, if we can find Bright Tree Village, they may be able to help us from there. It won’t be easy, and they probably won’t trust us, and I doubt the shaman that fought with Charal is still alive, but if he is, he may even be able to undo this…whatever this is,” Cassian said, gesturing to Bodhi, who looked slightly more enthused.

“I hope you’re right Cassian,” Bodhi said, sighing.

“I’m always right,” Cassian said, frowning. Bodhi smiled for the first time since he’d been transformed, which melted Cassian’s frown. He returned the smile and leaned across the table to cup Bodhi’s chin. “Alright, alright, sometimes I am wrong. But I think we both want me to be right this time?”

Bodhi nodded. “More than ever.”

“Let’s stay here until the weather clears up. I hate being at a base of any kind when we’re supposed to be enjoying ourselves, but it looked like rain when we got here and now I can hear it pounding the roof,” Cassian said, shoving the holopad into one of their bags. He collected up their belongings and the pair sought out Sergeant Fibst.

They were led to quarters that were incredibly cramped, a small cot set up against a wall with a small desk opposite were all the room had to offer. Cassian worried that with Bodhi’s wingspan they’d have trouble fitting, and Bodhi seemed to feel the same way.

“I can sleep in the rec room, Cassian. You’ll suffocate with me in here,” Bodhi said, dancing around Cassian to try and leave the room.

“If I’m going to suffocate, I’d rather have it be by you, Bodhi Rook, than anyone else. We can fit, I’ll manage.”

Bodhi tried to smile. A crash of thunder made the ground vibrate momentarily.

“I hope this rain lets up soon…” Bodhi said.

“If it doesn’t, we’ll take a speeder or something. But right now I’d like to take a nap with you, if you don’t mind? I haven’t slept in a long time. This bed looks uncomfortable and I could use some warmth?” Cassian let out a yawn, sitting down and patting the spot beside him.

“If I bother you, you promise you’ll let me leave?” Bodhi asked as he sat beside Cassian, his great wings folded as close to his sides as he could.

“You could never bother me, Bodhi. Unless…” Cassian smirked. “Unless you start cawing, then I’m kicking you out.”

“That’s not funny, Cassian! I could start doing that for all you know!” Bodhi exclaimed.

Cassian took Bodhi’s face in his hand and gave him a light kiss and pulled away, resting his forehead on Bodhi’s shoulder. “Then I will just have to make sure you are not able to move your lips.”

The rain was persistent but the storms were too inconsistent, causing Cassian and Bodhi apprehension in their plans to travel to Bright Tree village on foot. This sixth morning of their stay, Cassian lay ensconced in Bodhi’s wings as he listened to the thunder, feeling it rumble through the base while Bodhi breathed beside him steadily; they had decided to leave today, rain or not. Cassian nuzzled his chin on Bodhi’s shoulder and neck, causing him to stir. Bodhi fluttered his eyes open and starred at Cassian, first smiling, then slowly frowning as he collected his thoughts.

“How much more gear do we need to collect?” Bodhi asked with a yawn.

“Not much. Just some food supplies now. You sure you don’t want to take a speeder?” Cassian asked. But he knew why Bodhi didn’t want to: he couldn’t fly it himself.

“No, no I’d rather walk. Besides, we’ve been here for so long, it’ll be good exercise. Despite the, well, despite the rain.”

“Good point. Let’s get breakfast and start getting ready to go. We need to take advantage of what little light there is,” Cassian said, rolling himself off of Bodhi and standing up. Bodhi followed suit.

Breakfast was meager, as it tended to be on smaller base outposts, but they were still thankful for the meal. Cassian had managed to rig up a bag for Bodhi to carry and also a shirt of sorts. Cassian helped slip on their ponchos and bags as they made their rounds, saying goodbye to the few people they had met.

“I’m sure we’ll be back before we leave again, Sergeant Fibst,” Cassian said, shaking his hand. “And thank you for putting up with us for as long as you did. These were not the circumstances I would have liked to have met.”

“Better than being here for a war, sir,” the Sergeant said with a smile.

“That’s always true!” Bodhi chimed in.

“Take care, and make sure you let us know what happens.”

“We will. Thanks again,” Bodhi said, heading with Cassian to the airlock door. As it opened for them, they were smacked in the face with rain driven by wind.

“This is lovely, isn’t it?” Cassian mumbled to Bodhi. They both grinned as they set out. It wasn’t long before the water had seeped through their pants and shoes, making their feet heavy. Bodhi held up a wing over Cassian and himself as they walked through a clearing in the trees.  

Cassian took the opportunity of the added shelter to pull out his com and scan. He grinned at Bodhi.

“We’re really close! Just about a ½ kilometer!”

Bodhi said nothing but returned the smile. They reached the woods once more and were met with more and more dense brush, stepping on tall grass and over mossy that were strewn about. Cassian and Bodhi reacted at the same time as they made their way to a muddy clearing beneath the trees; they saw what should have been the village before them. Smoke rose lazily from the ash of huts and trees that had served as shelter. Bits of utensils were scattered about, sunken in the mud. Bodhi choked back tears as they examined piles of clothing that thankfully did not contain owners.

“She…she came here. Didn’t she? She knew we’d come here, and she…she destroyed everything,” Bodhi managed to say through the lump in his throat.

“Maybe, or maybe it was just revenge. There’s no bodies. They must’ve been tipped off. They had to have made it out of here.”

“I’m…I’m going to be stuck like this forever, aren’t I…” Bodhi was reverting back to his repeating of words, stuttering, self-doubt, and nervousness, something Cassian hadn’t noticed him do in a few years.

“No, we’re going to find someone. Let’s look for clues,” Cassian said, patting Bodhi’s shoulder and starting to look around.

They picked through the debris for over an hour, their boots squishing around in the mud, finding an odd assortment of items, but nothing useful. Bodhi was starting to retreat into himself as Cassian kept trying to urge him forward positively: it broke his heart to see him like this.

“This looks useful!” Cassian said, pulling something shiny from a smoldering hut he was exploring. “…just a string of beads. It would look good in your hair, though!” Cassian called out. But there was no response. He knew Bodhi had given up, and was probably sitting with a wing over his head, starring off at nothing.

“An old com link! It looks Imperial! Bodhi, come here and take a look at this! It looks pretty old…wonder how it got here…” Silence. “Bodhi?” Cassian turned to look at Bodhi, but all he saw behind him were several black iridescent feathers, the rain pelting them into the mud.

“Bodhi!” Cassian called, panic starting to set in. “Bodhi!” he yelled again. He retrieved his com and started speaking into it frantically. “Bodhi? Bodhi, are you there? Where are you? I turned around and you were gone.” Several moments of static. Then a whimper. “Bodhi?” Cassian called again into his com desperately. “Are you hurt? Where are you?” Static. Cassian picked up one of the feathers. He noticed blood at the tip. “No. No, no, no, no, no.” Cassian noticed several small footprints in the mud, slowly diminishing as the rain filled them in. He started following them, noticing that in the middle of the footprints was a broken up trail of a boot heel digging into the mud. Someone had attacked Bodhi and dragged him away.

A bolt of lightning darted across the sky horizontally as Cassian followed the prints, leading further and further into the woods. He kept making attempts to contact Bodhi through the com, but they were all unsuccessful. Bodhi was gone, and Cassian only had footprints to guide him.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Cassian followed the trail of muddy footprints and the occasional feather as the cold rain pelted down from above like pinpricks: the trees provided little coverage. He jumped as a bolt of lightning struck something in the distance. He pessimistically tried the comlink again, but his voice was unsurprisingly met with nothing but static; the bags were getting heavy, he was soaked to the skin, and he was hungry. He thought about reaching out to the base and having them send someone out in a speeder, which would enable him to track the prints easier, but he was afraid he’d miss something.

A cawing up ahead caused Cassian to freeze in his tracks. It was higher pitched than what the raven-form Charal had done, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t somehow returned to wreak havoc now that she could freely transform with the ring intact. He felt his stomach drop, contemplating Bodhi in her clutches, thinking of the feathers he’d seen. Had she turned him into a full raven? Could she do that? His boots trampled over more feathers; he felt tears mixing with the rain drops running down his face. Cassian’s heart pounded as he sped ahead, nearly collapsing when he saw Bodhi’s bag with a blaster Cassian had never seen before hastily dropped on the brown, wet leaves that slowly decayed on the ground. He ran to the bag, noticing a few droplets of blood clinging to the canvas. He examined the blaster: an A300. It was well-used, but not hot, indicating it hadn’t been fired in at least a little bit of time.

The raven moved near, causing Cassian to jump back as it landed a few paces from Cassian, cawing wildly. It was smaller than Charal’s raven form, and disheveled. Cassian knew it had to be a rebel trooper she’d cursed somehow. They had probably witnessed Charal kidnapping Bodhi and had tried to stop it, and she’d transformed them. Or at least that was the scenario Cassian played out in his head.  

Cassian screamed into the rain as he sank to his knees. The nightsister had taken Bodhi, there was no doubt. The raven hopped closer to Cassian, tilting its head up. He felt bad for the bird: this woman had now destroyed three lives, and Cassian didn’t even know who this poor person had been. With no more footprints to track, Cassian shouldered Bodhi’s bag and pulled himself up off the wet ground, sniffing in as he ran a hand across his nose. He started walking away from the scene, away from the footprints. He stopped and turned to see the little raven looking up at him with big eyes, as if it was asking permission to follow. Cassian nodded, not expecting the little raven to let out a guttural chirp as it flew to his shoulder. The little raven made another guttural chirp as it settled itself on Cassian’s shoulder.  

The pair walked on for a long time, Cassian barely able to lift his feet. Suddenly, the little raven flew from his shoulder and glided to a low branch, cawing at Cassian. As Cassian approached, it flew to another low branch and repeated this strange behavior. After the fourth time this repeated, Cassian realized the little raven was trying to get Cassian to follow him. In the distance, Cassian saw a small shelter that looked to have once been an Imperial bunker, overgrown with moss and vines and set in a hill. The raven perched at the top of the airlock door and waited for Cassian to get closer before flying down on to his shoulder once more.

“You’re not bad company, little guy,” Cassian said to the bird, and the bird, in turn, let out a little squawk. “Let’s see if we can get this door open.”

The entry pad was older, and didn’t take much effort to hack, the air lock releasing and grunting and grating as it slid open to reveal a small empty hangar. “Well, we can at least rest here for the night,” Cassian said, stepping inside the hangar with his companion. Automatic lights flickered on as he made his way further inside. The little raven flew from his shoulder and hopped while Cassian walked around the small bunker, discovering a small washroom the furthest away from the hangar, a few empty rooms, and a gutted control room. “I’m washing up if there’s running water, and letting my clothes dry. Luckily it’s not too cold in here. And then we can eat, alright?” Cassian said to the little raven. It cocked its head. “I promise I’ll be quick, don’t worry. I’m hungry, too.” Cassian grabbed his bag as he headed down the hall.

__________________________________________________________________

“Well, everything is soaked, there’s no point” Cassian said, returning to the hangar after a bit of time, holding his damp clothes rather than wearing them: they left a trail of water behind them. "There’s a dryer, though, so I’ll take everything in there and try and get it all dried before we-“ but he was cut off with a squawk from the raven. “-before we leave. Don’t worry, I’m not doing it now, we can eat.” The little raven hopped over to Cassian as he sat down. Pulling his legs into a crossed position, he leaned over to his bag and pulled out some of the food packets. The little raven happily ate the food offered to him from Cassian’s hand.

“Better?” Cassian asked. The raven cawed.

When Cassian finished, he sat with the raven in silence for a bit, trying to piece everything together in his head.

“Wish you could tell me what happened,” Cassian sighed, looking down at the bird. The raven let out an enthusiastic squeak and hopped over to Bodhi’s bag, tugging on the flap that covered the top.

“Hey! What are you doing? That’s not yours!” But Cassian was too tired to stop the little raven, and decided if it really was a trooper, maybe it knew there was something in Bodhi’s bag that could help answer Cassian’s questions. Surprisingly, the raven managed to wrestle the bag open, and tugged out some of its contents. It disappeared underneath Bodhi’s jacket, and emerged after a few moments with something clenched in its beak. A lump rose in Cassian’s throat as the little raven hopped over to him, dropping its treasure at Cassian’s bare foot. Cassian knew what was in its beak, and felt like his heart was going to pound out of his chest.

“How…” Cassian managed to say as he picked up the button the little raven had brought him. But it wasn’t a little raven, it was a rook. Bodhi Rook. Bodhi cawed a few times as Cassian clenched the button in his fist, his body heaving with unwanted sobs.

“What happened? How did this happen?” Cassian managed between sobs. Bodhi looked up at him, then hopped away to his own bag once more and disappearing inside it, finally managing to push and prod a datapad out. Cassian stood up and walked over to the datapad and turned it on, setting it down beside Bodhi.

“Can you tell me? With this? You can write me something?” Cassian asked, hope returning to his voice. Bodhi cawed and flapped his wings out.

“Please tell me we can fix this?”

Bodhi did the closest thing to nod that he could manage. It took time, but with his beak, Bodhi had managed to peck out an entire story for Cassian, detailing what had happened.

 _I decided to sit down while you were going through things in Bright Tree Village. A small group of Ewoks captured me, and no matter how hard I fought, they still managed to get me. They dragged me for quite a way. We met up with an Ewok that has powers like the nightsister. I think they're called shamans? I didn't understand what they were saying, but he had the ring. He was about to do something with it when Charal showed up. She managed to wrangle the ring out of the Ewok's hand, and was about to cast a spell on them when I got pushed in the way. The whole spell landed on me, and turned me into a rook. You told me she said I conjured a rook's ur-spirit into the ring? The whole thing ended up inhabiting me. She was furious because she caused the spell to land on me rather than the Shaman. It was successful because she_ _was casting the spell and not me doing it by accident wearing the ring and speaking. So when I transformed, I started going after her, trying to peck her. That's when it got really weird. One of the Rebel Troopers from that base we were at showed up, trying to shoot her. I moved out of the way, and they managed to get a shot at her, but she took off with the ring. The Trooper could speak with the Ewoks and told me they said to wait for you. They were going to go back to where the Ewoks were hiding out. They told me how to get there. But I wanted to get you, and get you out of the rain for a little while. Charal is the reason why it's raining. The Ewoks can help me, and that was their original intent because they want to get rid of Charal for everything evil thing she's done. They have a Shaman that can put me right if we can get the ring back._

Cassian digested all of the information, and a small smile tried to twitch in the corners of his mouth. 

"If we can get the ring the Ewoks can give you back to me?"

Bodhi cawed gleefly, fanning his feathers. 

**Author's Note:**

> The Talisman of the Raven was a ring used by the Nightsisters of Dathomir as a Talisman of Transformation that allowed the user to assume the form of a raven. According to Mother Talzin, who led the united clans of Nightsisters during the Clone Wars, the Talisman would tap into the prime raven spirit in the spirit world and lend its powers to the user. Originally held under the custodianship of a Shaman of the Nightsisters, it was stolen by Sister Charal, one of the Dathomiri witches. She fled to the moon Endor and never returned the Talisman to the coven.


End file.
